Some weekends you've just got to get away, right? My parents were heading to Asheville last weekend and they invited me to tag along. I said yes, obviously. I love the mountains and Asheville is a very gluten-free friendly town, so it was a great opportunity for me to get some yummy food.
We made reservations to visit the Biltmore early on Saturday. As a history buff, I have always wanted to see one of the most famous houses in America. It was even more amazing and grandiose than I imagined. The tickets cost about $60 to tour the house and the grounds. Although that might seem pretty steep, I think it's worth it. You can pay a little extra for an audio tour, but we didn't splurge for that.
You cannot take pictures inside the house, but I did take these pictures from the back balcony. I can't imagine living here and waking up to this view every day!
Here is a picture from the beautiful flower gardens! The gardens were planned by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also was the planner for Central Park and the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.
After we toured the house and gardens, we ate lunch at Bistro at the Antler Hill Village, which is a area that has shops, restaurants, and the Biltmore Winery. Our waiter was super knowledgeable and accommodating for my needing to eat a gluten free meal. They have gluten free bread available, so any sandwich can be made gluten free. I had the Turkey BLT and a side salad. Both were delicious!
We also sampled wine at the Winery. Everything I tasted was delicious!
We spent the rest of the being tourists in Asheville. It's such a great town. There are a ton of restaurants and shops. There's also a really lively atmosphere. A lot of young people, street musicians, and people all over the place. They also have wonderful restaurants. We went to Tupelo Honey, which is known for their delicious biscuits. Sadly, I couldn't have one, but for those of you who are not gluten-free, my mom said they are wonderful! Tupelo Honey is also very accommodating to those who are gluten free. I had the Shrimp and Grits. I'm normally very nonchalant about grits, but these were DELICIOUS! They were not normal grits; they were goat cheese grits. Definitely worth trying. The meal was a little spicy, so if you don't mind a little kick, you're in for a treat.
On the way home, we took The Blue Ridge Parkway. I had never been on it, and, oh my, it was beautiful! At one point, we were so high up, we were in the clouds. You couldn't see anything!
Our last stop was at Linville Falls. We hiked from the visitor's center to the falls and came upon the beautiful waterfalls. Although the hike was only about a quarter of a mile, I fell in love with hiking. I think it's something I want to take up as a hobby. I've been reading up on it, and I've found some smaller trails near my house that I'm going to try soon!
I'm interested in heading back to Asheville soon. Has anyone else been there? What are your recommendations?
